


And They Were Roommates

by Donvex



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Roommates, some of the others are only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 08:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12813855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donvex/pseuds/Donvex
Summary: Eddie wasn't sure where he went wrong.He had tried to be the best roommate possible. He kept his studying hours limited to the mornings. He always checked with his roommate to see if he needed the bathroom before Eddie got in the shower. He kept his half of the room neat and organized. He had tried to contribute to creating a good environment for both of them to come home to.But Richie Tozier was a dick.





	And They Were Roommates

Eddie wasn't sure where he went wrong.  
  
He had tried to be the best roommate possible. He kept his studying hours limited to the mornings, when he wouldn't have to tell his roommate to quiet down and wouldn't keep his roommate up at night. After that, he went to the library, removed completely from the situation.  
  
He always checked with his roommate to see if he needed the bathroom before Eddie got in the shower, because Eddie knew that his showers could get kind of long.  
  
He kept his half of the room neat and organized, even while his roommate's half of the room was somewhat untidy.  
  
And his roommate wasn't that bad about it, either. Only once had he accidentally put his mug on Eddie's desk. When he dropped his bag and coat into a pile on the floor, he always kept it to his half. He made sure to use headphones when listening to his music at night, because he knew Eddie had morning class. And it worked, for a while.  
  
Eddie wasn't sure where he went wrong. He had thought he and his roommate had found solid middle ground, had created a safe space, had formed a balanced schedule that had benefitted both of them.  
  
And yet Brian was moving out.  
  
They weren't exactly friends, per say, they never saw each other in social settings. But they respected each other, and had both contributed to creating a good environment to come home to. Now Eddie had to worry about how long his room would be empty for and, more importantly, who would be moving in after.  
  
And boy, was Eddie right to worry.

 

Richie Tozier was a dick. There was no way around it, no way to soften the blow. From the moment he moved in - which was, for some reason, at ten o’clock at night - he was making fun of Eddie. Ignoring Eddie’s polite hello and small talk. Laughing at Eddie’s offer to compare their schedules. Mocking the way Eddie talked with some bizarre, butchered accent that Eddie _guessed_ was supposed to be him.

 

And Eddie was fucking mad.

 

Tozier seemed _delighted_ to have a punching bag for a roommate, but things weren’t just going to settle that way. From the very first jab, Eddie was glaring at his new roommate, eyes narrowed and fingers curled into fists. Richie only responded to him when Eddie was pushing back, when he was being just as snarky and even more petty. That was the only thing that got a response, and if anything, that just drove Eddie to be even _more_ spiteful.

Not even twenty four hours in, they were at each other’s throats.

 

“You’re a fucking asshole, Tozier.”

 

“Yeah? Still a better roommate than a fucking fairy, I bet.”

 

And Eddie saw fucking _flames_.

 

“Oh, yeah? Because my sexuality has anything to do with how I treat people, right? God, you’re such a fucking _cunt,_ Richie! God knows why you had to have a roommate switch in the middle of first semester. Oh, wait, no, I don’t have to wonder - it’s because you’re a jackass, right? Because you just talk without fucking thinking, as if the whole world revolves around you, right? Well, I have fucking _news_ for you. I’d rather have a cock up my ass than a branch I found off the street. How you have room to fit a stick _and_ your own head up your ass? Well, geez, you must have a special talent!”

 

At this point Eddie had crossed the room, hands thrown up in the air from exasperation. Richie was glaring at him back, attempting to use his height as an advantage and loom over Eddie.

 

“You don’t know me, Kaspbrak. Get out of my fucking sight.”

 

“It’s my room too, dipshit. You don’t wanna see me? Turn around and put your head in the corner.”

 

It was hostile. They tried, for a while, just not talking - but the tension was even worse. Neither of their friends wanted to come over, and they wanted to go home to their dorm even less. After that, they had decided it was better to just openly smite each other. At least that way they could get some satisfaction, and maybe they wouldn’t kill each other before second semester room change came around.

 

Eddie didn’t know where Richie got off on fighting, but it was making him sick. Constantly being on edge? Not being able to relax in your own home? Terrible for your mental health. And terrible mental health? Didn’t exactly lead to good physical health.

 

That’s how Eddie ended up lying in bed, counting numbers idly and focusing on taking deep breaths. He could hear Richie shuffling about, muttering under his breath, but he shut out any noise that wasn’t a knock on the door.

 

When it finally came, Eddie was relieved. He knew it would only be a few seconds, but if this was gonna be the highlight of his day? He was going to enjoy it. Bill had opened the door and immediately thrown an arm around Eddie’s shoulder, and Eddie’s smile was instant, if small and resigned.

 

“We’re gonna miss you, Eddie! We’ll be sure to take lots of pictures for you.” Mike was always the sweetest, at least Eddie could count on that.

 

“We’ll be sure to g-get you lots of free condoms, okay?”

 

And Bill always had a smart mouth.

 

Eddie had shoved Bill off him with a laugh, and the three of them spent the next twenty minutes like that. It was normal, and Eddie had forgotten what it had felt like to be comfortable in his own dorm. Seeing them leave, when it had been time for them to go meet up with Ben and roam the streets, Eddie had to hold himself back from going with them anyway.

 

He didn’t have time to be sad after, though. Richie was snorting to himself the second the door was closed, scoffing quietly.

 

“What’s your problem, asshole? You’ve been fuming over there since my friends stopped by.”

 

Richie pointed to the rainbow flag that Eddie had taped up in the window. For once, it wasn’t pristine. The flag was only held up by beige masking tape, and instead of at least being smoothed out and even, the tape was crinkled and filled with bubbles. It’s a sign, if anything, that Eddie had no energy left. “That’s kind of pathetic.”

 

“I get it, you fucking asshole. I’m weak and sick and _oh_ so _fucking_ gay. Get off my back, Tozier.”

 

"We can't all be happily out and about, _Eds_. Some of us get kicked out of our home for it. Twice."

 

That was the kicker, right there. Not only was that Richie opening up more than he ever had in the entire month and a half he had been living there, that was _not_ the kind of information Eddie had been expecting.

 

“Twice?”

 

“You wanted to know why I had to switch dorms, right? My last roommate couldn’t handle that I might bring home a girl one night and a guy the next, but woop-de- _fucking_ -doo, they put me into a room with a gay kid instead. That fixes everything! Nice and convenient, right?” Richie was spitting at that pointing, knees pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped around his legs.

 

And Eddie almost felt for him. Being the gay kid at home was hard enough, and it didn’t necessarily get easier here. But Eddie hadn’t _done_ anything. “You fucking prick.”

 

Oh, Richie didn’t like that one bit. “Bite me.”

 

“Are you really so fucking self-obsessed that you had to take out your emotional turmoil on me? Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I’m fighting the same god institution you are. Do you know how long it took me to find a roommate that was okay with me being gay? That could tolerate my particular schedule? Ages. _Ages._ I spent all god damn _Summer_ reaching out to people! But you’d rather we fight each other instead of fighting together, you dumbass.”

 

Eddie was breathing hard, worked himself up _again_ over this stupid boy, and he was so done with it. “Speechless? You can’t find _anything_ to say?”

 

“I didn’t ask to like you, jackass.”

 

Eddie wasn’t even surprised at that point. “And I didn’t ask to be roomed with a toddler that thinks pulling a girl’s pigtails is the way to a blooming romance, you're still a fucking asshole."

 

"What else was I supposed to do?"

 

“The same thing you do when you like a girl."

 

"I wasn’t having some sort of gay crisis, Eddie. I know who I am."

 

"You're a dick, is who you are. Get over yourself."

 

"...Yeah. Yeah, I was a dick."

 

"Work on that."

 

The conversation simmered to an end. The rest of the day was surprisingly quiet, unnaturally so. When Eddie came back from class on Monday, the tape over his rainbow flag had been replaced with small window hooks that stuck to the glass with suction cups. They didn’t mention it, didn’t acknowledge it. Richie never acted like he was suddenly a good roommate because of stupid gestural acts, he just quietly did them in _addition_ to working on his attitude.

 

(And in addition to hanging his own pride flag in the second window, purple and blue and pink.)

 

It was rough for a while. The first month was almost worse than when things had been tense - at least back then they had both known how to react. Moving into friendly territory was unsteady and, quite frankly, terrifying. Instead of cut throat criticism, they shared hesitant small talk. Questions about each other’s day, careful offers of sharing food.

 

Richie had attempted several times to formally apologize, but he never got far. Eddie found words weren’t as good as actions either way.

 

Months passed by, as did the second semester room change period. Learning how to live together was the hardest challenge. Learning that they could actually make good friends had been easier once Richie had gotten off his high horse.

 

They shared pizza on Fridays. Eddie went back to studying in the mornings, but Richie refused to let Eddie scamper off to the library once he had woken up. He insisted it was okay, and said that if anything he needed motivation to study, too. Richie had taken to headphones. On the occasions where Eddie showed interest and curiosity, Richie would ask if Eddie wanted him to play it out loud. At some point music became part of their Pizza Friday tradition, and they spent hours laughing on their carpeted floor while they tried to put together a perfect playlist even though it was _clearly_ a mess of contrasting genres.

 

They made stupid jokes at three am when they knew they should be sleeping but instead were out of breath, tears in their eyes, lungs wheezing and desperate. Their hands grasped at air as they tried to sit themselves up, or at least hold their aching sides.

 

Somewhere along the lines, things became comfortable. When the end of the year began approaching, they found themselves agreeing to room together the following year.

 

Their Summers passed quietly, and though they never saw each other, they _did_ keep in contact. Eddie messaged Richie every morning, since he was the first to wake. Richie always tried to respond in exclusively jokes, but more often than not he turned to deep conversation and genuine criticism on the world instead. Eddie would end every day with a long, rambling message on the most annoying part of his day, and Richie would only send back a smiley face.

 

The bickering never really went away. It became such a core part of who they were as individuals that replacing it completely felt… insincere. Even they’re friends had tentatively began understanding and forgiving the situation after a week back at school. Bill and Mike met Stan, and when Eddie would blow up at Richie for pushing his buttons, all three of them would laugh in unison.

 

It only took two weeks for the late night conversations to pick up again.

 

"Eds, I’m. Really fucking stupid."

 

"Yeah, I know."

 

"You aren't even gonna ask what for?"

 

"Which thing is it this time, idiot?"

 

"I was really fucking awful to you, and now I've ruined my chance."

 

“Did you ever stop to consider that I’m still fucking here?”

 

Richie was quiet, then. Contemplative. “Do you-”

 

“Don’t you dare ask me out when we’re lying in our separate beds in the pitch black, Richie. Talk to me tomorrow morning.”

 

Yeah, Eddie wasn’t sure where he went wrong. But if it had somehow lead to him lying with his cheek pressed to the cool side of his pillow, watching as Richie Tozier fell asleep with the biggest smile splitting his face?

 

Then Eddie had never wanted to be more wrong in his entire life.

**Author's Note:**

> For trashrichie killerxqueer homokaspbrak and sourcreamsalad on tumblr, who wanted me to write them a bad roommate au! They also pressured me into using my filler title, don't look at me.
> 
> This was a lot of fun, Eddie is such a ridiculous ball of anger.
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr at donvex.tumblr.com or leave a tip ko-fi.com/monstrumian !


End file.
